So far, we have gone through the Encyclopedia Britannica and commented its thoughts about God, we quoted some famous people’s words and surveyed what is in their mind about God, and we shared with you what Greek culture said about God.
Now we desire to show you the deeper view about God according to the Bible.
Language of the Bible
For over 1000 years, the majority of the people on the earth couldn’t read the Old Testament, which was written in Hebrew. Around the mid-3rd century B.C., 72 Jewish scholars (six scholars from each of the Twelve Tribes of Israel) collaborated in a translation of the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek, the language which was popularly used all the colonies of Roman Empire. This Greek version was called the Septuagint. It became a bridge between the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament.
The Three-in-One
In the Septuagint, the word for “God,” theos, corresponds with the Hebrew word Elohim. In Genesis 1:26 God (Elohim) said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…” In this verse we can see something profound of God by both singular and plural terms. In Hebrew, “God”, “make” and “Our” are plural, while “said”, “image” and “likeness” are singular. This implies that God is both singular and plural. In our spiritual terminology, we can say that God is “three-in-one.” In other words, God is triune; He is the Triune God. He is the one unique God and manifests Himself as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said in Matthew 28.19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” In this verse you can see this marvelous triune God. He is three – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – yet He only has one name. While such a thing may seem impossible at first, we should realize we see this even in our daily life: a man bears three major statuses in his daily life. At home, he is a father to his children; at work, he is an employee to his boss; at the church, he is a member to the leaders of the church. Such a man is three — father, employee, and member — yet has one name.
The Creator and Sustainer
God is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. He is unique (Isaiah 45:5-7). He is the eternal and all-sufficient One, full of divine power (Genesis 17:1). He is all-possessing and all-abundant. He is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. He is all-wise (1 Corinthians 1:24-25). He has an all-creating power. (Heb. 1:1-3). He is the God of life, and He created all living things on the earth. All the life on the earth — the grasslands, the forests, the fishes, the birds, the beasts and even the human beings — are the reflection of His life. Moreover, He is the God of love, and He places love in and among all the living creatures. The love in human beings and the love in animals are the reflection of His love.
God’s Desire
Furthermore, the Bible describes that this great God, the Creator of all things, desires to live among all the people on the earth and to have a very personal and sweet relationship with them. (Prov. 8:22-31)
Today, most people share the common knowledge that God is supernatural with an unshakable sovereignty. They hold that He is untouchable and unapproachable. However, the Bible says that “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16). God loves us and desires us to know His love.
God showed us His love for mankind by becoming a man. As the Bible says, “In the beginning was the Word, …and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” (John 1:1, 14). The eternal God became a man and dwelt among men. He gave Himself up for our sins and was raised up to be a life-giver in order for us to believe Him, to love Him, to serve Him, and to join His family–the church (Gal. 2:20-21; Eph. 2:19).
This is the God of the Bible; this is the God we have!
